AN EXTREMELY RARE IMPERIAL CINNABAR LACQUER ‘LYCHEE’ TREASURE BOX, QIANLONG MARK AND PERIOD

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AN EXTREMELY RARE IMPERIAL CINNABAR LACQUER ‘LYCHEE’ TREASURE BOX, QIANLONG MARK AND PERIOD Expert’s note As demonstrated by the literature comparison, a nearly identical lychee treasure box, also bearing an imperial Qianlong mark, is preserved in the National Palace Museum. To our knowledge, however, no other example of this particular type has ever appeared at auction in the West, making the present lot a genuine auction première. Other cinnabar lacquer boxes belonging to the so-called Baohe group have occasionally appeared on the international auction market, where they have achieved prices in the mid-five-figure and, in exceptional cases, even six-figure range. These, however, are generally considerably larger than the present example. China, 1735-1796. The box of circular form, the cover neatly carved with three lychee fruits borne on leafy branches, one detailed with a floral diaper pattern and another with scale-like skin, all reserved against a diaper-patterned ground. The interior of the cover inscribed in gilt with the four characters Lychee treasure box, while the inside of the base is inscribed with the gilded characters da Qing Qianlong nianzhi. Dimensions: Diameter 4.6 cm These types of treasure boxes exemplify the height of lacquer production achieved during the reign of the Qianlong emperor. Imperial archives show that Qianlong personally oversaw the production of court lacquer wares, in particular cinnabar lacquer boxes and covers with dual Imperial marks. According to the Zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshops), archives of the lacquer workshop in the Imperial Palace Workshops, between 1771 and 1775, a number of specifically carved lacquer baohe or ‘treasure boxes’ were produced by order of the emperor, specially inscribed with four-character names as well as the Imperial reign marks (see Lin Mun-lee, Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, p.117). Literature comparison: Compare a near identical carved cinnabar lacquer box with lychee, with Qianlong and treasure mark, dated Qianlong period, 4.7 cm diameter, in the National Palace Museum, reference number 故漆000355N000000000.

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